Water sitting at door seals
 

Hi,

My 82 300CD has not been used for the last few weeks. Ive noticed the following issue before, but this time it was very notable.

It seems that when my car gets rained upon, there ends up having water sitting at the bottom of the door. It seems that it sits just above the door seal that is attached to the door, at the bottom section where it is parallel to the ground.

I get no water in the car.

The seal/strip that is on the car seems to stay dry.

When opening the door, I got a real puddle poured out from the door. A good deal of water. Not good having water sitting at the door.

So, any ideas? anyone see this before? Dont want rust to form...

Thanks!

I've seen this on my car - the water seems to settle between the lower rubber seal and the bit of trim on top of the threshold trim.

It is clear on my car that the door rubbers are a bit done in - if that isn't apparent on yours perhaps can you see if the fit between metal and rubber is good or not? When you drive the car do you get lots of air rushing into the cabin through the door seal?

how are the window brushes?

Have you verified that the door drain holes are clear?

I replaced them, so they are about a year old. Good and tight. The rear edge that is part of the actual door seal does show a slight gap. It is original. I suppose that could be part of it... Perhaps Ill try pouring some water there and see what I get.

Good point, but shouldnt the door drain holes be below the rubber seal?

Mine does the same thing..mine is not a coupe tho. I have a 123 sedan

That's right. If they are plugged, it's possible that water is backing up inside the door and coming out between the door and the inside panel just above the seals.

My 85SD is rusty under the bottom section of the front door seals. POR 15 should take care of it because they aren't very bad but it would require work if let go a couple of years. I'll check the doors. I need to pull them to lube windows.

I'll report back on current condition of drain holes. Do we have documentation of number of holes so I don't miss one?

That would be helpful for the coupe doors too.

So my car sat for a week, and it was a rainy one. Opened the door today, and a LOT of water came out. LOTS.

The carpet is dry. There is no water that comes into the cabin or that I noted under the carpet.

However, a lot of water was sitting under the kickplate or whatever the plastic thing is at the door threshold. I was surprised to see this.

Is there a way to remove the plastic at the door threshold without damaging it?

This didnt used to happen as bad...

It is a bit tight but it is only held in place by little spring clips. These clips clip onto a spot welded joint that sticks up into the threshold.

If it is really tight try levering at one end - and then wedge it in place and then lever the other end... I haven't managed to break them so I guess they are quite sturdy.